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Terrorists

Well now it’s come to this: think about what we are doing regarding “homeland security”.

We want to talk up this business about securing our borders and our nation from outside threats such as from Yemen, Iraq and other terrorist nations and organizations… but when it comes to the thought of protecting against threats that happen right here within our own states, we seem to have a major problem supplying personnel and equipment to do that.

The incident yesterday along the CTA Orange Line prompts me, a regular rider, to question what is going on. For those who read this article and who are not familiar with it, let me enlighten you: the Orange Line is part of the Chicago Transit Authority’s system of elevated trains that goes through the famous Loop district. On this train patrons can ride all the way to Midway Airport; from the Roosevelt Stop the trip is about thirty minutes. You can get straight on it from the Red Line by accessing a tunnel and escalators to go up to the Orange Line stop.

Yesterday the peace of patrons on the Orange Line was shattered when armed assailants burst into the cars, announced a robbery and took things from riders. Apparently they got on at the Halsted stop and got off at the Roosevelt stop and took off. Now with the number of people at the Roosevelt stop and the amount of activity there it is hard to believe that someone did not yell out that there was a problem and that the personnel downstairs could not catch up with those people or call for backup and clear the area.

So where is all this “security” we are supposed to see since 9/11/01? Where are the vested officers, the dogs, the extra cruisers and personnel? WHERE ARE THEY? Every so often in the Red Line I see a dog with an officer, and the occasional extra officers in the gate area, but this should not be “occasionally”.

And if there is any denial that we have terrorists right here in our nation, that incident should push the denial right out of the minds of the law personnel and clear the rust out of our brains and the dust from our eyes and make us question even more, “WHERE ARE THOSE EXTRA SECURITY PERSONNEL?”

Also what happened to the idea of acting so quickly on the sentence we hear every time now that we are on a Chicago train: “If you see something, say something!” Perhaps the riders between those Orange Line stops were so in shock that they could not react quickly enough to inform 9-1-1 or the conductor that something was wrong. Perhaps also, there being more than one assailant, the means of contacting help were denied to the riders until the robbers jumped off the train.

What happens now that the security video has been released?

People sure are brazen these days, but desperation can breed such unusual behavior, such risky behavior as that which happened in broad daylight along that CTA train. It is a mean -spirited and desperate person indeed that brandishes a firearm among a crowd of peaceful travelers and shakes their minds up and demands their belongings. Just terrible…

… but what are we as ordinary citizens going to do about it? Carry more weapons? Have officers in every train car? Have cameras on every seat? Perform more citizens’ patrols? We sure are beyond just talking about the problems and the issues about “gun violence”. We are tired of hearing about it every day, seeing the evidence and the remains of it, and dealing with it. We don’t want to “deal with it”. We want it to end, be over, enough already.

We have come up with the horse and carriage, a transition to the motorized vehicle and which are still used in many parts of the country today. Though they have the horse which needs to be fed and cared for there is the need of the carriage with its two large wheels. We came up with the stagecoach… still needs horses, though, and at least four. More expensive care and feeding there, and for the tourist carriages that roll through some American cities there is the extra need for safety procedures that ensure the care of horse and riders.

Chicago is a city that runs twenty -four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, all the time but not always on time. Yet we as a city -race do run, and we can run ourselves ragged.

We as citizens of America’s third -largest city are surrounded by wheels. There are four of them on our cars; there are hundreds of them on the trains we take every day, and there are hundreds of them on the busses that come to collect us and take us to our destinations.

On television we also see the wheel. There is the wheel of fortune on the show of the same name. There is a wheel on the popular game show and one of the longest running television shows, the Price is Right, and there are wheels of prizes on Let’s Make a Deal. If there is not a wheel there is the “roll” of the dice in the hopes of winning something really nice. Among the prizes offered are, what else, cars and motorcycles.

We can easily forget in the limelight of potentially winning one of those spectacular prizes the elements of safety that come with owning them. If you drive you must realize that there are rules of safety designed to keep you and other drivers and pedestrians safe. There are rules and laws of decency that every driver needs to know and to follow. Never use a device that takes your hands off the steering wheel. You are in a moving automobile, a vehicle weighing at least three thousands pounds and much more the larger and heavier it is. Vehicles can travel the length of a football field in less than ten seconds at 55 miles an hour.

Left untamed, the wheel can take us right into nothing but trouble. Four of them moving at that speed can cause great catastrophes and harm and injury and destruction.

The wheel is a sign and symbol of taking risk, of making a journey, of traveling and of arriving.

Somewhere.

We get in our cars or on the bus or train with the intention of getting someplace and doing something. We “fight traffic”, we get into “traffic jams”, and we experience “train delays” and construction delays every day. Now delays can be caused by any number of reasons- the ever -present construction, weather situations, trucks stuck under viaducts, or flooded viaducts. And under us those wheels made of rubber and metal, decorated by hubcaps and inflated by air pressure, those wheels supporting the tons of metal, rubber, and… people who use them every day.

And under those wheels, the roads that need the very constant maintenance that causes those jams and delays and ties -up and other situations we encounter. Roads and tracks need to be in good order to support the thousands of vehicles traveling on them every day, and if they are not we can and do see the consequences.

Airplanes also have wheels. Isn’t it amazing when you look at those tiny tires under the millions of tons of jetliner and wonder how they support it? Some jets weigh close to half a million tons, so it seems a stat on the aptly -called jumbo jets came through once. Planes take off at over a hundred miles an hour and touch down on those incredible tires, and I to this day am inspired to watch when a jet comes into the terminal jet -way, gazing at those circles of rubber and metal. Remarkable.

We are a nation of travelers, no matter what we are doing. We watch shows that inspire us to travel; we get out of the house and go places to do things. We feel the need and have the right to freedom of movement and to move anywhere we want.

But some people misuse those resources others pay taxes on and work on and get to work and school and play and worship on. Some people use their vehicles to commit drive -by murders, use them to dispense drugs, use them to run the drugs to other states, use them to commit road rage, vehicular homicide, and hit and run incidents that take the lives of others and can leave others maimed for life. Some people consider that they can just throw waste on the roads, where other have to see and smell it every day. They throw it out lazily and without any consideration that someone else will have to clean it up, and when there are trash bags and receptacles they can put the waste into. You who litter and who just toss junk onto the roads should know better than that! Such habits show a total lack of consideration for the lives of others; throw the junk onto a road and you could cause an accident. You might think that little piece of trash is nothing but if someone runs over it or hits it a tragedy could happen, and you would be at fault for causing death and destruction.

You would be at fault for causing loss of life, of someone who might turn out to be a loved one or a friend or even someone you work with. Do you think of that?

But there are better ways to consider the roads we use and everything that goes with using those roads. Of course we can think of those roads but we do have other ways to travel, and those ways existed before the wheel.

We have feet and we can make trails and paths- we were doing so long before we had to invent the convertible. We were running and hunting and getting around because we had to, because we needed to get place to place and follow the animals and the spring rains and the trade routes.

We can use our feet to go some places so long as the walk is not super long… that is unless we are on a relay race that takes us across states and countries to raise funds for some worthy cause as happened this week to help the people affected by events in Boston last year. Thousands of people will this coming week run in the Boston Marathon, only a year after two horrid men set off bombs in that beautiful city, killing and maiming and doing great harm to many people.

And how will the racers and spectators get to Boston? Well, if they live close enough some might walk to see the Marathon. But my wager is that most of them will travel on or in a vehicle with wheels. Some will fly in and take busses and cars; some will drive sedans and coupes, and some will ride their bicycles or motorcycles as far as they can get them to the race limits. They will take the tens of thousands of miles of roads that cross the United States, roads they hope are safe and maintained and travel -ready, will share those roads with thousands of other drivers and passengers in millions of vehicles of every size and description.

Trucks, huge semi tractor -trailers, moving vans, fire engines, ambulances, cars of every size and shape and vintage; the sport utility vehicles, busses and campers used for recreation during nice weather, and the motorcycles, vans, and limousines will make their way to Boston. With them are the police officers and the security teams that will monitor the routes and the airports leading in and out of that fair city.

There will be risks getting in and out of Boston as there are any other city or any place we go every day. Those who turn the chance into a grand circumstance will see an event that will be so very special to the participants and spectators, not only because the racers have trained and prepared for that big day but because of those thousands that will join them live and on television and by computer to watch them in that effort to show the world that those nasty terrorists have NOT WON that day and WILL NOT WIN at any time and any place on United States land.

O let us weep and let us mourn
For the student killed for his cell phone;
O pity the youth who cannot step
Onto their home porch for a breath of air.

Let us cry for the kids who play
In plain sight of pimps and gang-bangers
Who want that “turf” for their own selfish ends
Who care not for the kids that just want to play?

Then let us rise against these demons
Who terrorize, yes terrorize, our communities
And break those “ties” in communities that want no part of those foolish ones…
So that they feel no warm welcome.

Strike against the trouble, be not afraid!
These are cowards and they have no sway
Over you or anyone else who pays their fair share and way
So that the kids can come out… and play.

Original poem by Divi Logan, author and writer, TEXTTiles Business Web, Chicago, 2014.

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SOCIAL MEDIA: HELPFUL OR HARMFUL?

When people are robbed and killed and lose their lives over some lousy little replaceable thing such as a cell phone, we know we are in very deep and heavy trouble as a society, as a nation.

When do the “social media” become very unsociable? Just ask the families of anyone killed for a cell phone or other portable electronic device. They will tell you that they are devastated that someone would shoot their loved one for that little inanimate object. And worse, in recent incidents in Illinois, despite that the victim gives up the item the assailants still shoot them. And the young men and women die… for that little thing they held onto like it was the end of the world, like they could not live without it, as though they were glued to it and could not be away from it even for one second. And someone is mean-spirited enough to injure them even though they hand over the device. What a pity.

The cell phone is meant to be a means of convenient communication for people in a world environment that has become full of static, too busy and way too cluttered. We would think that having information stored in these little devices keeps things neat and reduces clutter and paper, but in the sense of this article, “clutter” means that which we store in our brains or minds, the excess information we think we need to have upstairs, where things are, what files they are in, why we need to “stay on top” of issues and situations every second… mental schmutz. Phones are only means of communication and storage of information and nothing else. And companies now aware of the potency of the cell phone as attracting the wrong kind of attention, people being killed or robbed for them, can now shut down the device and render it useless so that the assailants cannot use the information on the phone. So what’s the use of robbing someone over some lousy phone?

This, like many crimes of opportunity, are done by people who are really nothing but armed and vulnerable cowards- it is that they are bitter towards society, bitter towards those who have what they want, eager to cause harm or get revenge for “something” that is eating them. They are armed which is another problem, they are angry, they might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and as such are very dangerous to be around. They could be participating in gang initiations, in which case all of the above might be involved (drugs, guns, alcohol, anger, bitterness, the need to belong, the notion of the secret society, bitterness, isolation). Crime is a huge problem, but it happens in so many ways. That we do things to others is bad enough… but when a “crime” is done against our own self, that is worse.

CRIMES AGAINST SELF

Crimes against the self mean going against that which we truly believe and want to do. When we know our essence, the “real self” people say we should be, and we do not help it or practice it or expound its principles, that is when we are not true to ourselves. It is then that we go outside of our self, turning to others in the way that people insecure and uncertain turn to certain organizations for answers (churches, school groups, clubs, gangs). The suffering self feels a need to belong outside of self since they cannot seem to glean the meaning of what their essence is saying or what to work with. They deem their true self “too deep” to understand and so seek escape into a world that will only give compromise and not genuine, sincere answers to working with the true self. The sufferer often turns to escaping into food, drugs, alcohol, abuse of others, and get into real trouble. Then the crimes against self become hazardous to health- there can be obesity, abuse of drugs or of people, alcoholism, entry into occult and initiative societies, psychiatric difficulties. Then the sufferer can get into any number of bad habits or perform any number of terrible actions, ranging from road rage to murder, from terrorism to suicide. That they are being so mean to themselves is one thing; when they turn against others or harm life is when the criminal mind and intent becomes criminal action worthy of intervention by law enforcement, detoxing programs, the corrections system, first responders and people who will then have charge of making decisions for that person who has seen fit to take their misunderstandings out on society.

WHAT IS YOUR TRUE SELF? WHAT DO YOU WITH IT?

If you are as I am, your true self is of a person of peace, joy, contentment, happiness, humility, and active goodwill. You have aspects of what in the facets of the chakras are known as elements of the Crown Chakra, the highest level of human energy and where the best instincts find their most perfect bloom and frequency and practice. You are learning to work with others in the light of those elements, as essential to life as breathing and the heartbeat. You might see yourself as an individual nation-state or galaxy interacting with other nation-states or galaxies out there, tens of thousands of them in the form of human beings. Each of these people is a being unique, special, wonderful and marvelously made, with potential, chances, opportunities, gifts, talents, and a personality unlike any other. Just as nations are different, and galaxies are different- and there are millions of the latter- we are different but we do not have to let those differences get in the way.

We let the differences get in the way when we go in for that “diversity” talk the government spits out so that someone can get a fast buck and get some kind of recognition they think they deserve or can demand over the rights or privileges of others. We let diversity get in the way of unity, and that is not a good thing. We are blocked from seeing others as they are, human beings that deserve respect and that’s the right of it. Because we hear this junk about “diversity” and “people of this or that” persuasion, we are brought under the idea of pre-judging others (prejudice) and profiling others, and that puts a wedge between us and the other person. Communication is not pure and true at that point- it is clouded, it is corrupted because we decided to listen to what some arrogant, foolish, sick person who deems themselves an expert in behavior or in some social group and go with what they said because “it sounded good and it was on TV or it was on some social media site”. That is what people who are in positions of power and influence want the vulnerable and the young to believe because they have the money and resources to put their ideas and views on the mass media. Those that are young and vulnerable and looking for an “out” or an escape from understanding their real self turn to these other people for answers… and then it is back to what was talked of above: the means of escape can turn into real trouble for the person running away from their true self.

What are you- peaceful with your real self… trying to escape the true self… afraid to understand the true self…

Seek, listen, go deep, get out of the old social rut and rat race of the modern mind. What will you (no, not the westernized, drill and forced, taught and punished and conditioned and abused self) find? What will YOU find?

Waste, bickering, filibustering, arguing, scandals and excessive spending are just about all we seem to get from our so –illustrious and so –compensated and so-spoiled national legislative body that now our approval (or disapproval) rating of that august gathering of elected officials has reached an all- time low. Yes, Monsieur and Madame Congress -person we do not like you and if we could we would recall and replace every single one of you because of waste and malfeasance and laziness and acting like spoiled brats when you don’t get your way.

One issue plagues many people, and that is so much talk of “national security” especially in the wake of the WIKIPEDIA leaks by a member of our military and the Edward Snowden/ NSA (National Security Administration) cases. As far as many are concerned there is too much of this security stuff going on, and 9/11 is no excuse for waste, excess, attempts at justification, and so much snooping on and hindrances on law -abiding citizens who do no wrong and who have no ambitions to do anything amiss.

What are these organizations that plague us every day and make us listen to such notices as you hear on commuter train lines, those notices about seeing something and saying something, about suspicious people and activities, and about “making us all more secure”? Do we really need them all and how much is all this costing us?

The NSA and some group called the CSS (and we aren’t talking Cascading Style Sheets)

Well, let’s get on with this necessary dirty work of exposure of the deep spooky reaching hands of our government, starting with the organization most in the news today, the NSA, or National Security Administration. According to their webpage their core missions are to protect U.S. national security systems and to produce foreign signals intelligence information. WHAT? Here it is straight from their link:

“The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) leads the U.S. Government in cryptology that encompasses both Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Information Assurance (IA) products and services, and enables Computer Network Operations (CNO) in order to gain a decision advantage for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances.”

The arm of the NSA is known as the CSS, and here is its statement from its NSA page link:

Central Security Service (CSS)
“The Central Security Service (CSS) provides timely and accurate cryptologic support, knowledge, and assistance to the military cryptologic community.

It promotes full partnership between the NSA and the cryptologic elements of the Armed Forces, and teams with senior military and civilian leaders to address and act on critical military-related issues in support of national and tactical intelligence objectives. CSS coordinates and develops policy and guidance on the Signals Intelligence and Information Assurance missions of NSA/CSS to ensure military integration.

The CSS was established by presidential directive in 1972 to promote full partnership between NSA and the Service Cryptologic Components of the U.S. Armed Forces. This new command created a more unified cryptologic effort by combining NSA and CSS. The Director of NSA is dual-hatted as the Chief of CSS.”

Our Vision

Our Values

We will protect national security interests by adhering to the highest standards of behavior.

Dominance and advantage – is that all they want? Why do we need so much of this arrogance and ambition?

The CIA or Central Intelligence Agency

Wasteful spenders take two: tackling the CIA’s mission. What is the Central Intelligence Agency and what are they about? They are an independent U.S. government agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior U.S. policymakers.

SENIOR U.S. policymakers around here are about as useful as bricks in a junkyard: they just sit there, take up space, and waste resources because someone has to guard them, clean their area, and secure their space. Policymakers, indeed… and the worst thing we can call them is “law makers” because they tend more to get in scandals and break laws, but they sure know how to impose them on American citizens and not lift a finger to help us out without going through a lot of red tape, huffing and puffing and condescending.

Well now, the CIA… what is its mission? Straight from the horse’s mouth it is:

Vision

One Agency. One Community. An Agency unmatched in its core capabilities, functioning as one team, fully integrated into the Intelligence Community.

Mission

We are the nation’s first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go. We carry out our mission by:

Collecting information that reveals the plans, intentions and capabilities of our adversaries and provides the basis for decision and action.

Producing timely analysis that provides insight, warning and opportunity to the President and decision -makers charged with protecting and advancing America’s interests.

Conducting covert action at the direction of the President to preempt threats or achieve US policy objectives.

The FBI or Federal Bureau of Investigation

Talk about having to make hide and hair of what our government throws at us every day, now we need to take apart the corporate lingo of the FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigation. Another “bureau”…swell. Just what are they around for anyhow?

Here is something from their “About US” link:

(The FBI is) “an intel – driven national security and law enforcement agency, providing leadership and making a difference for more than a century.

Our mission is to help protect you, your children, your communities, and your businesses from the most dangerous threats facing our nation—from international and domestic terrorists to spies on U.S. soil…from cyber villains to corrupt government officials…from mobsters to violent street gangs…from child predators to serial killers. Along the way, we help defend and uphold our nation’s economy, physical and electronic infrastructure, and democracy.”

Supposedly this organization has so many “intelligent” people working and they cannot even spell out “intel –driven”?

Let’s match up their mission and priorities and see how this information we are gleaning is coming together. Here it is from the FBI’s link:

“Our Mission

As an intelligence-driven and a threat-focused national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities, the mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners.

Our Priorities

The FBI focuses on threats that challenge the foundations of American society or involve dangers too large or complex for any local or state authority to handle alone. In executing the following priorities, the FBI—as both a national security and law enforcement organization—will produce and use intelligence to protect the nation from threats and to bring to justice those who violate the law.

Protect the United States from terrorist attack

Protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage

Protect the United States against cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes

Combat public corruption at all levels

Protect civil rights

Combat transnational/national criminal organizations and enterprises

Combat major white-collar crime

Combat significant violent crime

Support federal, state, local and international partners

Upgrade technology to successfully perform the FBI’s mission”

It seems that this mucky gibberish is their way of saying, “Gosh, we’re paranoid and we want you to be, too. And we want you to waste time and money supporting our paranoia veiled under the language of “patriotism” and ‘protecting national security’.”

One thing is sure: until we pare down the Census Bureau (to be discussed) we will not make progress on “civil rights” or “race relations” How ridiculous does that sound? And it is your government that is making all this lack of progress and all the trouble and stress possible. Just remember, there are people terrorizing this country every day from the inside; child abusers and molesters and pornographic suppliers, sex offenders, spouse abusers, serial killers, abusive teachers, bullies in the schools, parents who don’t pay child support, racial profilers, stalkers, and drug runners and pimps and gang –bangers. Who needs talk of all this “overseas” gibberish when we have enough problems to solve RIGHT HERE in our own borders?

The DHS or Department of “Homeland Security”

“The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission: to secure the nation from the many threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cyber -security analyst to chemical facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, but our goal is clear – keeping America safe.”

Do we need this extra layering of the TSA AND “Homeland Security?” Honestly I’ve felt safe in air travel since the 1970’s, when the Vietnam War was still going on and the United States was involved around the world. 9/11/2001 was a sad day for everyone and it served a need for an increase in security but not, in the view of many, for the creation of an entirely new organization, when there has been some kind of security over our nation’s airports and cargo transport zones for decades now.

Travel now is slower (and they think it is expedited) for passengers than ever before. We now have to remove our shoes, have bags inspected down to their zippers, remove our belts, be pelted with rays and signals, and be identified until we think we can say our social security numbers backwards while standing on our heads in the security screener. When was there a time when bags were not screened, or a time when there was not ample security in the airports? Think the CIA or FBI or the National Guard could handle that without this extra layer of the TSA wasting our time and money?

Here is what the TSA overview says they are doing for you (and how much more will we want done with this “for you” attempt?):

“Protecting Transportation

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems while ensuring the freedom of movement for people and commerce. Within a year, TSA assumed responsibility for security at the nation’s airports and deployed a federal workforce to screen all commercial airline passengers and baggage.

TSA now vets 100 percent of all passengers into, out of, and within the United States through TSA’s Secure Flight program. We use the latest technology to stay ahead of evolving threats, and continuing our efforts to screen 100 percent of cargo, regardless of where or how it is moving.

I will clarify the word “vets” since the writers of the web page were not kind enough to elaborate despite their cumulative intelligence. What is the meaning of “vets”?

When you “vet” something you:

a: subject to usually expert appraisal or correction <vet a manuscript>

b: evaluate for possible approval or acceptance <vet the candidates for a position>

So the TSA and every “security layer” we have in this country knows more about you when you get on that flight than you do about yourself… now is that something to be concerned about… or isn’t it? Below is more about the TSA.

* * * * * *

Improving Security Through Layered, Risk Based Approach

TSA employs a layered, risk-based approach to secure U.S. transportation systems, working closely with stakeholders in aviation, rail, transit, highway, and pipeline sectors, as well as the partners in the law enforcement and intelligence community. The agency continuously sets the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations.

We use layers of security to ensure the security of the traveling public and the Nation’s transportation system. Because of their visibility to the public, we are most associated with the airport checkpoints that our Transportation Security Officers operate.

These checkpoints, however, constitute only one security layer of the many in place to protect aviation. More security measures both visible and invisible to the public include:

Intelligence gathering and analysis

Checking passenger manifests against watch lists

Random canine team searches at airports

Federal air marshals

Federal flight deck officers” (Italics mine for emphasis).

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So far what is the common ground of these “Security” organizations? Let’s review.

Purpose/Mission

NSA/CSS

CIA

FBI

DHS/TSA

Cryptology

√

Gathering Signals

√

√

Computer Spying/Networking

√

√

√

√

Dominance of Intelligence Gathering or Providing Intelligence

√

√

√

√

Covert Actions or Military Support

√

√

Securing Infrastructure

√

√

Couldn’t we make do with just one that can take care of everything? Why not- the resources are spread out now and we have enough trouble understanding why all the waste, the specialty symbols and uniforms and scanning devices and the excess and the problems, including inappropriate or poor behavior by security staffers. Seems that just one “Central Intelligence and Security Association” would be more than enough, combining resources, paring down, recycling paper and plastics and “going green” and saving enough money to reduce the deficits and reduce citizens’ anger at the scandalous intrusions of government waste.

And anyhow, are you tired of this talk of “improved security” and “national security” and secrets and other wasteful chatter that hints of the “Cold War” and having to keep information from others and holding up the veil of “national interest” and this idea that the US has to be dominant and controlling in every part of the world? Considering that our nation is still in its infancy, does it make sense that we should dictate to nations a lot older and more civilized than ours? We need to do more listening and studying than dictating and patrolling and militarizing, and perhaps then we would be cured of arrogance, waste, pride, envy, greed and all those other bad behaviors we do not want to “own up” to displaying every day. Our government needs that dose of humble pie, and perhaps a few dozen humble pies before the facts are clear: WE DO NOT APPROVE OF THE (LACK OF) JOB YOU ARE DOING, SO GET WITH IT!

We have to every day at our work, so why aren’t you people in Washington doing the same?

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Our National Guard should be just THAT, OURS!

No more foreign involvement for our National Guards –people! Saying they are protecting our interests when they are 10,000 miles away from the United States is like saying you are watching your cake bake in your own kitchen oven while traveling in another state. It is an attempt at telling you that your tax dollars are being properly spent in guarding our “national interests” when the people on whom those dollars are spent are nowhere near guarding OUR nation but are watching over the rebuilding of and defending of other nations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places where it is plain that those people do not like the presence of Americans in the first place and are doing all they can to let us know that.

Our National Guards ought to be HERE, within OUR borders, protecting people until rough neighborhoods are restored to order, helping out in natural disasters, and providing defense against so-called homegrown terrorism. You don’t have to go halfway around the world to find terrorists and troublemakers; they are right here within our borders.

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I say to Congress, if you cannot do good work, GO HOME and quit wasting money running the Capitol. EARN your salaries for goodness’ sakes and stop the whining, the bickering, the arguing and the filibustering and the racism and the demographic junk that is ruining our nation. You certainly do not have our approval now, so just get out of Washington. Eventually we will vote you out anyway so why continue to waste resources? Just get out and give everybody some peace and quiet so we don’t have to hear about what you are (not) doing every day.

Repeat after this phrase, repeat it long and hard and loud: I DO NOT NEED DRUGS! YOU DO NOT NEED DRUGS! AMERICA DOES NOT NEED DRUGS!

So the DEA knows about the Sinaloa cartel and the people involved and what they are doing in cities such as Chicago, eh? They KNOW about it, they have counted or estimated the number of gangs and members and rival gangs involved in the heroin and other substances smuggling and running rings! WELL GO AFTER THEM FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! YOU KNOW, WELL TAKE THEM OUT!

What is the delay that you cannot go in and flush them with all the resources we have at hand, SWAT, the National Guard, the Army, the Marines, everybody! Go in there with the drones and bomb robots and dogs! Harass and worry and torture and flush these criminals and no -goods STRAIGHT AWAY! No more kid gloves here, folks. Now is not the time for being gentle. These people are up to no good and care only about themselves.

The gang members do nothing but hurt and harass and terrorize everyone they are around. They are about as uncaring and crude and rude and inhuman as anyone can get. They will shoot to kill and will shoot anywhere and everywhere if they sense trouble on their turf.

THEIR TURF? Whose city is this anyway? It is not theirs if that is what they are using it for.

Just in this past few hours, in less than ONE DAY, there are three dead and nearly a dozen wounded in “weekend gun violence” in Chicago area. Chicago is making national news headlines because of the gangs, drugs, and the killing of innocent people. We are talking BABIES here, folks; we are talking KIDS, folks, we are talking about OUR FUTURE!

Is that what you want to wake up and hear and see every morning, gunshots and shells and police presence in your community, the presence and evidence of drugs and pushers and users and gangs smuggling that crap, that trash, that deadly demonic junk into your streets every day? Is that what you want, the possibility that your child, your parents, your elderly neighbor, your dog, your relatives and schoolmates, could be gunned down just because they happen to be in the wrong place when some gang nut decides to open fire on someone they think is a rival?

IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? Ask the question, ask it loud and long and hard! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? IS THAT WHAT WE WANT? Get your family together and proclaim it loud and long and strong! WE DO NOT WANT THAT!

Say it in church- NO MORE SINALOA! GANGS GO AWAY! WE DO NOT WANT YOU and WE WILL BE RID OF YOU! Say it in the synagogues, say it in the mosques, say it in the towers and turrets and proclaim it from the rooftops. Say it on campus, say it in the car, call the radio stations and speak it loud and hard! NO GANGS, NO DRUGS, NO GUNS HERE!

Take back your streets and your communities! Tell Sinaloa they are not welcome, and run the gangs out of the area for good.

If this is what we get from Mexico then I want nothing to do with that nation until this problem is solved.

OK, who out there is TIRED of hearing the mass spin media and the politicians talk about “gun violence”, “gun control”, gangs and drugs, gang turf, gang territory, and children having to cross gang lines to go to school or to walk to the convenience store every day? Who is sick and tired of having their communities plagued by these people with their strong –arm tactics and guns and powerfully lethal drugs and their exhibitions of greed and materialism and idolizing the worst of what makes us human? Who is tired of the shouting and the graffiti, the danger the kids are in, the talk every day of how many people are dead in “gun violence”, and the sight of the open –air drug markets?

ARE YOU TIRED OF THAT? THEN WHAT DO YOU THINK?

It is safe to venture a guess that it was YOUR hard work and sweat that won you that property on which to have your home, your livelihood and your business, your schools and your churches. Certainly that land belonged to you and other hard –working, diligent citizens who were there long before those “gangs” with their no –good paraphernalia and drugs and guns and terrorist tactics and cowardice showed up and invaded.

Citizens of Chicago and of other towns plagued by these cowardly people, TAKE A STAND AND ACT IMMEDIATELY! Think about it: what would you do if your garden had weeds in it? You would want to know why they are there maybe, or you would just go ahead and see what it is and get rid of it. You already know you don’t want that thing in your garden, so you get out the hoe, rake, and shovel, weed spray, cultivator and then fresh soil and better plants and take the weeds out with some hard work and elbow grease.

That is how you get rid of weeds in a garden, so the same applies to getting rid of gangs and drugs on your streets. YOUR STREETS, folks, NOT the gang’s streets or the drug’s streets or the neighborhoods with “gun violence” – those are YOUR streets, YOUR homes, YOUR schools and YOUR bus stops. The gang members aren’t doing anything to help you out or improve things or make life better.

Gangs are around doing just the opposite: they are invasive and cancerous and pustule and disgusting and dishonorable. They are out to do no good, out to destroy and divide and draw in the vulnerable and take the lives of the innocent and purvey the drugs and the illegal guns. They are out for nothing but power and greed and to sport their stupid signs and their colors and their “pride” in being able to destroy children on front porches and exhibit their cowardice in drive –by shootings. Only cowards act that way, and the citizens of Chicago are NOT cowards.

It was YOUR land before it was the land of the gangs, so TAKE IT BACK. The gangs are on your land, not the reverse. YOU are on your land that you have paid for, that you maintain, that you work for and pay one third of your income in taxes for every year. You are on land you have from your family, for your children, for your business and for your future; you have built that house and built that church and that community center and community garden. It is YOUR land, not the land of that gang banger!

What is the cause of the reason the gangs are in your community? Find that and you will find out how to get rid of them for good! Is it racial gerrymandering? Is it citizen apathy, political apathy, voter apathy, neglect of the streets and buildings and sidewalks and transit? What is it that is the reason the gangs found the area attractive and came in with their guns and their ways and their signals and set up shop? WHY ARE THEY THERE?

Ask those questions, find out what it is that made the area attractive for the gangs and the drugs and the violence, so you can find out how to turn the gangs in and run them out of your community once and for all. YOU CANNOT BE AFRAID ANY MORE! That is what the gangs and the terrorists want, and gang members ARE terrorists, nothing less and a lot more. They are homegrown terrorists or people affiliated with drug cartels that are out for nothing else other than to sell their drugs, destroys lives and destroy communities and divide families.

Find out how to get rid of them. Tell what you see, save a life, and save the children. Do your conscience a favor, do your city or town or village a favor. Branch out, leave demographics and race and ethnicity behind; get out of the social and economic bubble so you can help those who are in trouble and who need comfort, safety, assurance and love.

GET OUT THERE, FOLKS! Someone needs you.

Divi Logan, Chicago, 2013.

Take a look at my entries in another of my blogs, ILLUMINATE AND ADVOCATE, the latest is inspired by the events in Boston.

THEY THOUGHT….

Poor Hadiya. Poor young girl with so much potential… poor friends who huddled with her in the park just for shelter.

Mourn the reasoning for “gang turf” and “gang territory” that the news folks make so much out of in Chicago reporting these days. We certainly don’t need the mass media touting that at every turn, that “crossing gang lines” that only gives the gangs more attention and more focus. Mourn that those youth were in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.

And now on News Radio 780 WBBM we have Police Superintendent McCarthy of the CPD coming on and telling us that the young men arrested and charged with the murder of that aspiring and wonderful angelic young lady thought they were encountering members of a rival gang and so opened fire without another thought on the group, killing Hadiya. He says they thought they were seeing other gang members.

They thought. THEY THOUGHT? What in the world does he mean “THEY THOUGHT”? They thought, nothing. My five feet “they thought”.

THEY THOUGHT? IDIOTS! BULLIES! THUGS! DAMNABLE FOOLS!

Had they been thinking, well first they would not have been out there with those guns firing wildly into a group of kids just huddling in a park. Mistaken identity… some thinking they did. They thought, eh? They did no such thing, they were NOT thinking of anything but doing WHAT THEY WANTED.

That’s the way with such people, they do what they want with no consideration for others. And one of them should not even have been out on the streets, much less in possession of a firearm with which to terrorize others. And it is terrorism, folks, it is homeland terrorism, this business of gangs. They are homeland terrorists!

Some now say that the way to conquer this behavior begins with background checks. OH NO, FOLKS, not at all. It begins long before some sort of background check. It begins before someone can learn to spell “firearm” or learn what one is. If there are guns in the house, that should be part of what the parents teach the children, and it begins with being dutifully responsible for teaching that child what those instruments are for.

The way to a better society begins with everyone taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for their actions when they are of an age for normal, logical reasoning of right and wrong, good and bad, basic morals and actions and considerations and the principles of good citizenship. When someone is able to understand these aspects of living in a society then it is time to test what the child has learned in the way of being responsible for what he does and what he does to others, and learning how to act when someone does something to him.

When your child is of an age to understand that something will hurt someone else, or that “this is a good thing to do”, or that “you are not to use this unless it is for…”, then you start them out on the path to being a good citizen. You teach trustworthiness, accountability, honesty, respect for others, and in time, community service. That should be the goal of our education system in this nation.

They thought, hm. Well, our politicians are not doing much thinking either. They sure are doing a lot of talking and sitting around “looking into things”. But doing talking and sitting do not address the issues like ACTION does. We don’t have time for the politicians doing their thing to keep on wasting time and money and energy.

We have to act, we have to govern ourselves and our communities; we cannot wait for the elected officials to get busy on that. Government is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” So we as good citizens have to do the acting and the governing. You are not in control of the gangs – that is what the gang folks want you to think. But the gangs are nothing but cowards… they are armed cowards and they are bad, unfeeling, inconsiderate people, and that makes them dangerous. They are desperate for something, be it material gain, drugs, satisfying a habit attributable to greed or materialism or to get attention they otherwise miss somehow.

Gangs do not control you or me or us, they do not control the parks, schools, “neighborhoods”, street corners and stores. The upstanding people like Hadiya and her family and her nice friends are the ones who have the real control and who pay the taxes and who want to live and play in a better place. They want to learn and to work and to be good citizens; they do not want to be like those murderous thugs and fools who want to muscle in and terrorize others.

Do not stand for such behavior any longer. Come out of the woodwork, find out who these people are and what they are doing, what they want and why they are around. Move them out by force if you have to. Turn them in, SNITCH ALREADY! You might save a life.